Chapter 33
Sarah woke the next morning, feeling like she had been hit by a truck.
She stretched out and longed for the comfort of her bed, but the fresh layer of dew that covered her made her aware of the fact that she’d dozed off on the porch.
The sun was barely starting to move over the horizon, and she was considering going to her room and crashing for a few more hours when she heard the front door open.
Sarah sat up a little more, just in time to catch her father backing out of the door with two steaming cups of coffee in his hands.
He handed one to Sarah and took the seat across from her.
Right away, she noticed he was doing what she'd asked and taking his gun with him everywhere.
Setting down his coffee, Henry removed the shotgun from his shoulder and set it next to him in the chair.
It was nice to see he was taking things seriously, even if he didn't want to believe his friends and local politicians could be capable of the horrors she had described.
Hopefully, they would be able to come to some sort of terms with the mayor before there was any bloodshed.
Sarah knew that until that time came, she couldn't leave the homestead.
It didn't stop the guilt from weighing heavily on her.
Meredith had John working with her, but she didn't know how long they'd be able to hold the prison.
If any of the good people there needed an escape, she was happy to help them find it.
That couldn't be done from her parents’ homestead in Maine.
Turning her attention back to her father as she sipped the coffee, Sarah listened to the sounds of nature all around them.
There was no denying that the homestead was a peaceful place unlike any other.
“So, honey, when do you plan on leaving again?” Henry asked.
“How is it that you and Mom both seem to have the ability to see right through me?”
“It’s a parental magic power handed down once you have your first child.”
“Well, I’m starting to believe that. You both always know what I’m thinking or that I’m about to do something. Sometimes you seem to know before I even know.”
Henry chuckled. “There are no magic powers, Sarah. Your mom let it slip that you were planning to go back to help your boss. That woman never could keep a secret.”
“Now, that makes more sense.” Sarah laughed. “I don’t know when I’m going to leave yet. There’s still plenty to do here to get you guys ready for the winter first.”
“I know I can’t keep you from leaving, but I want to know you’re going to be safe.”
“I promise I will be careful when the time comes for me to leave. I know neither of you wants me to go, but I gave my word to Meredith, and I can’t go back on it. No matter how shitty the world has become, our word is all we have. Probably more so now than ever before.”
“Leave it to you to follow the lessons we taught you, even when we don’t want you to.” Henry smiled. “If you promised her you would be back, then you have no choice but to go back and help her.”
“That’s why I have to,” Sarah said. “Still, there’s plenty to do here that will keep me busy. I want to make sure you’re well-prepared for the winter, especially since the twins are here now.”
“They’ll keep us busy, that’s for sure.”
Sarah fell silent. It felt good to be sitting there, drinking coffee with her father, as the world around them started to wake.
She knew the children would still be asleep for several more hours, their little bodies slowly adjusting not only to having real nutrition for the first time but having a purpose in life.
Suddenly, all of her senses started to tingle as she set down her cup and pulled out her gun.
Her skilled eyes scanned the road in front of them.
Off to the right, she saw a figure pop into the woods from where he had emerged on the road a few yards away from the edge of their property.
Instantly, she recognized him as a guy from town, but she didn't know the man on a first-name basis.
She quickly whispered to her father to stay where he was as she raced off the porch and into the woods.
She didn't want the man to see her coming.
Minutes later, she could hear him tromping through the forest away from their homestead in the direction of town.
She wasn't going to let him go, not given what she had heard the mayor say the day before.
If he was working with them, she had to know.
Sarah circled around until she was in front of the man.
Just a few minutes after she heard the guy in the forest, Sarah emerged onto the path in front of him with her gun drawn and pointed in his direction.
Instantly, he froze, and the color drained from his face.
He swallowed; his eyes darted past her. She knew he was thinking about running.
To prove her point, she cocked the gun and leveled it at the man’s chest. She wasn’t going to let him go anywhere.
“Who in the hell are you, and what are you doing here?”
“I don’t mean to intrude, but I’m from town. I’m just scouting ahead for the mayor. He asked me to look around to find out which houses are abandoned and which ones still have people staying in them.”
“Well, we don’t take too kindly to trespassers here,” Sarah said. “Why don’t you just tell me when they are coming?”
The man fell silent as Sarah kept the gun pointed at his chest. She didn’t plan to kill the man unless he made a move of his own.
Still, there were many questions she needed answers to, and she was willing to wait patiently for the answer to the most important one.
If she knew when the men would be coming, they stood a better chance of stopping the mayor and the ones he brought with him.
“I want you to tell me when in the hell they will be here.”
“They’re on their way now. I don’t know how long it will be,” the man replied.
“You might not know how long it will take them, but I’m sure you have a good idea of how far behind you they are. So, tell me, where are they?” Sarah demanded.
“They’re about two miles back. They’re going house by house and scavenging for anything they can find.”
“Good. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“You have no idea what you’re doing here.”
“Maybe not, but I know when they’re going to get here. Tell me, what are they going to do to you if you don’t return and tell them what’s ahead?”
The man scoffed. “Hell, they’ll probably string me up and whip my ass.”
“Maybe I should just let that happen. After all, you came onto our property.”
Sarah heard her father approaching from the road and quickly holstered her weapon. If the man wanted to make a run for it, Sarah was confident she could stop him before it was too late. Her father looked from the man to her and back again. Sarah needed to get a plan in place with her father’s help.
“So, what do you want to do with him?” Henry asked.
“We aren't killers, not like the others,” Sarah muttered. “If we don't let him go back, they will know he's missing sooner or later.”
“So, you want us to let him go? He'll just warn the others that we’re here.”
Sarah frowned, knowing her father was right.
She didn't want to see any bloodshed, though, unless it was absolutely necessary.
The best they could hope for was to strike some sort of deal with the mayor and his men.
If it came down to it, Sarah would happily shoot every last one of them, but it wasn't her first choice for a diplomatic resolution.
“Go back and tell the mayor we’re here and we are happy to talk with him. We aren't going to be bullied. I want to make that clear,” Sarah told the man.
At first, he didn't seem to believe that they were letting him go. After a long pause, though, he darted off into the woods in the direction of town.
“Do you really think that was the best idea?” Henry asked.
Sarah shook her head. “Honestly, I have no idea. I want to believe there is a peaceful resolution, but I’m not counting on it.”